Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

I’ve been waiting for this movie for eight years. Subconsciously, that is. Let’s face it – ‘Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen’ was not begging for a sequel. Sure, it was left open-ended, but it was a solid, finished story all by itself. The reason I was anticipating this sequel is simple. Back in 1998, director Shekar …

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

How do you re-invent a tired genre? Quite simple, really: treat the film as if this particular plot was never done before; create three-dimensional characters, put them into realistic situations, and give them just enough screen time to shine without taking away from the story. And finally, if your characters start going through familiar motions …

Babel (2006)

Last year’s everyone’s favourite movie – a winner of many awards, nominated for dozens more, is Babel really that good? We’ve had our share of undeserved award-hype in the past – Brokeback Mountain, Shakespeare in Love, so does Babel fill the same over-hyped shoes, or is it actually worth watching? Well, if you are not …

The Departed (2006)

Sometimes, when you put a whole bunch of male actors on the screen, you get drama magic. From 12 Angry Men, to Glengarry Glen Ross, to The Thing, to The Great Escape, the right combination of despair and testosterone will give you fantastic movie moments, filled with memorable quotes, crackling silences, and often-imitated facial expressions. …

100 top TV catchphrases

Yes, the end of the year must be here – all kinds of lists are popping up. Here’s one list we just had to share with you. The TV Land cable network has compiled a list of the 100 greatest catchphrases in TV, from the serious — Walter Cronkite’s nightly sign-off “And that’s the way …

Robert Altman RIP

Robert Altman is no more. The famous director of Nashville, Gosford Park, MASH, Dr. T and the Women (and so many more movies) has died. He never got his Oscar – sure there was that lifetime achievement handout earlier this year, but for all the outstanding work he’s done, none has earned him that ultimate …

For Your Consideration (2006)

When this film premiered at the Toronto Film Fest, the director brought out the cast on stage. After Christopher Guest announced the last person to appear, he proceeded to talk about the film, how it was made, and who inspired it. Suddenly, from back stage, Eugene Levy appeared, shuffling quietly and slowly, as if he …

Thank You For Smoking (2005)

This movie is not about smoking. If you find you learned something new about smoking from this movie, you have been living under a rock for the past 7 years. Why seven? Because back in 1999 a little movie called The Insider came out. If you missed it, do yourself a favor, rent it, and …

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

NOTE: I have seen this movie just before the Oscars, after a long string of award wins. I’m posting this review late on purpose – waiting for the Oscar craze to die down, as well as all the hype surrounding the movie in the first place. Too much has been said about Brokeback’s loss to …